South Korea's LPG demand has fallen since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The outbreak ends the boom in South Korea's LPG demand, which reached a record high in 2019. Demand will be likely to extend decline as the country is expected to plunge into an economic recession.
According to data from South Korean state-owned oil firm KNOC, LPG demand fell to 9.15 million barrels (774,000 tons) in February, declining by 27% from January. Record demand in January drove a 9% increase to about 358,000 bpd of LPG consumption during the January-February period. For March, some traders estimated the country's LPG demand to have fallen by 25%.
In February, autogas consumption declined by more than 20% year-on-year to less than 72,000 bpd, KNOC data showed. Consumption by residential and commercial consumers decreased by 13% to 57,000 bpd over the same period, while industrial LPG use increased by 18% to 183,000 bpd. The country's propane consumption fell by over 20% year-on-year in February to 270,400 tons.
According to the data, South Korea imported 627,000 tons of LPG in February, a third less than the previous month. Propane imports accounted for 520,500 tons, declining 29% month-on-month. Meanwhile, butane imports plunged by 47% to 106,500 tons. South Korea's LPG output fell by 18% month-on-month to 177,600 tons in February. Its LPG exports, which consisted of all propane, dropped by 35% to 29,920 tons.
